Proms 2010

"A NIGHT AT THE PROMS" - 30TH JANUARY 2010

A packed audience (60% non-Salvation Army) attended Birmingham Citadel Band’s 5th Annual Proms Night. Bandmaster Lamplough’s concept for this year’s concert was “Songs from the Shows” and the 1st half reflected an eclectic range of musicals before the promenaders enjoyed all the usual “pomp and circumstance” in the 2nd half.

For the first half the band drew rapturous applause with music from the great shows such as ‘Oklahoma,’ ‘My Fair Lady,’ ‘Kiss me Kate’ and ‘Carousel’. The words of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ were used by compere David Newstead to bring home a spiritual message that Jesus is always by our side in whatever circumstance.

Stephanie Lamplough, accompanied at the pianoforte by Patricia Owen, sang beautifully such gems as “I dreamed a dream” from Les Miserables and a delightfully piquant number titled ‘Vanilla Ice Cream’ from the musical ‘She loves Me.’

David Taylor’s lovely Euphonium sound was used to great effect with ‘Summer-time’ from Porgy and Bess.

‘Sister Act’ was also featured as 4 trombonists combined to produce some golden sounds allied to the slick rhythms of ‘I will follow Him.’

The audience returned from their tea and coffee to the strains of the Sir Henry Walford-Davies’s RAF March Past before the Bandmaster launched us all into the traditional music associated with The Last Night of the Proms at the RAH.

‘Fantasia on British Sea Songs’ and Elgar’s ‘Pomp and Circumstance No1.’ were featured with all the usual accompanying whistles and hooting sounds from the audience. They displayed a marvellous sense of acceleration and rhythmic clapping to the well known ‘Sailors Hornpipe’. Stephanie also inspired much flag waving from everyone as draped in the Union Jack she gave an athletic performance of ‘Rule Britannia’ and a quite exquisite ‘Alleluia’ (Mozart).

Then the audience joined in most heartily with ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘The National Anthem.’ For the finale, the band played Bramwell Cole’s march classic ‘Under two Flags’ as The Salvation Army and Union Jack flags were paraded in from the back of the hall. The concert was, once again, enhanced by Malcolm Hayward’s multi-media, giving the audience further insight into the music being played.

This was a ‘one off’ night from the Band’s normal repertoire but the capacity, largely non-Army audience loved it judging from the comments I heard as they trooped out into the bitterly cold night air.